Main headlines

May 3, 2013

Tensions ran rife in the West Bank earlier this week as Palestinian land was burned and destroyed by Israeli settlers in retaliation to the stabbing of an Israeli man on Tuesday. AFP photo
06:00 GMT

The stabbing of an Israeli man on Tuesday by a Palestinian in the West Bank, near the city of Nablus, has sparked Israel settlers in the local area to plan building a "revenge colony" as payback.

May 2, 2013

April was Iraq's deadliest month since June 2008, according to the UN
13:43 GMT

April was the deadliest month in Iraq since 2008, the United Nations said on Thursday/

The World Health Organisation says it is closely monitoring the novel coronavirus.
10:24 GMT

At least five people have died in Saudi Arabia from a virus similar to the one that causes Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS), the country’s health ministry says.

President Morsi had intended to replace ten ministers, the source added, but the number was trimmed to six because he could not persuade enough replacements to join his cabinet.
10:15 GMT

Egypt's cabinet reshuffle will see six ministers replaced, Al-Ahram Arabic news website has reported, citing a government source.

A car bomb in north-eastern Baghdad killed at least three people and wounded 14, police and hospital sources said. Another car bomb north of the city of Ramadi killed two policemen and wounded another 10.
(Photo used for illustrative purposes)
08:05 GMT

At least 15 people were killed in a series of bomb blasts across Iraq on Wednesday, police and medics said,

Jordan is looking for "international support"
03:59 GMT

Last Friday’s summit between Jordan's King Abdullah and US President Barack Obama at the White House again highlights Jordan’s determination and relentless efforts to find a political solution to the conflict in Syria.

May 1, 2013

Black hooded human rights activists hold banners demanding the closing of Guantanamo during a protest, part of the Nationwide for Guantanamo Day of Action, outside the White House in Washington DC in April. Photo courtesy of The Week
11:16 GMT

US President Barack Obama announced on Tuesday that he is committed to closing the Guantanamo Bay military jail, calling it "expensive and inefficient".

On Tuesday, Nasrallah said Syria’s friends would not let the embattled regime of President Bashar al-Assad fall.
10:37 GMT

The Syrian National Coalition (SNC) denounces remarks made by Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah as “nothing but threats,” warning against the Lebanese Shia group’s intervention in the Syrian conflict.

The parked car bomb exploded in the Shia-dominated district of Hussainya, east of Baghdad, on Wednesday morning, killing four civilians.  (Photo used for illustrative purposes)
10:21 GMT

A car bomb in a Shia suburb of Baghdad killed four people and wounded 12 others on Wednesday morning.

U.S. President Barack Obama is gearing up to send lethal weapons to the Syrian opposition, according to senior administration officials speaking to The Washington Post on Wednesday. (Photo: AFP / Saul Loeb)
07:50 GMT

U.S. President Barack Obama is gearing up to send lethal weapons to the Syrian opposition, according to senior administration officials speaking to The Washington Post on Wednesday.

Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hasan Nasrallah promised support for Syria's President Assad in a televised address (archive picture)
02:25 GMT

Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hasan Nasrallah said Tuesday President Bashar Assad’s government could not be toppled military and his allies would prevent such an outcome from ever happening.

April 30, 2013

US President Barack Obama described the use of chemical weapons in Syria as a "game changer"
17:37 GMT

U.S. President Barack Obama said Tuesday the United States has not been standing by idly as the Syrian situation unfolded as he described the use of chemical weapons as a "game changer".

An image grab of local TV coverage showing the car bomb that exploded in the Marjeh area of Damascus. AFP Photo
10:42 GMT

A car bomb that exploded in the heart of the Syrian capital near the Interior Ministry has left at least five people dead, according to local TV reports.

The United Nations office in Geneva. Getty Images.
09:16 GMT

Egypt has decided to withdraw from talks on the Treaty of Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons because "the international community is not taking the issue of Arab security seriously", according to a government spokesperson.

US Secretary of State John Kerry makes a statement with Qatari Prime Minister Hamad bin Jassim Al Thani after a meeting with the Arab League at Blair House in Washington, DC, on April 29, 2013. (Photo: AFP / JIM WATSON)
08:55 GMT

Arab states appeared to soften their 2002 peace plan on Monday when a top Qatari official said Israel and the Palestinians could trade land rather than conform exactly to their 1967 borders.